Shadow of Light
by Higuchimon
Summary: [4/4 chapters, complete, Kouji & Kouichi (Duskmon)] Injured after Duskmon's attack, Kouji shouldn't have been able to get away. But he was the only one not caught by Mercuremon and Ranamon. Perhaps this is why.
1. Abduction

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Frontier  
**Title:** Shadow of Light: 1-4: Abduction  
**Characters:** Kouji, Kouichi (Duskmon)  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,490||story: 3,490  
**Genre:** Drama, Angst||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** Injured after Duskmon's attack, Kouji shouldn't have been able to get away. But he was the only one not caught by Mercuremon and Ranamon. Perhaps this is why.

* * *

_Kouji._

_Kouji._

_Kouji._

Bright as a lance of light, the human's name echoed in his mind, thudding against parts of himself Duskmon hadn't even imagined existed a single heartbeat earlier. He'd dreamed only of defeating the ridiculous human children who thought they could stop Cherubimon-sama and his divinely ordained plan. None of them could stand up to him. Their best efforts amounted to less than nothing to him. A single hit would've finished their so-called leader off, a hit he'd relished delivering.

A single hit someone else had taken.

_Kouji._

_Kouji._

_Kouji._

He stared down at the human crumpled before him, a thread of scarlet seeping through the boy's clothes. Duskmon stepped back, that sharp coppery scent strong in his nostrils. He'd never encountered it before, but he still knew what it was.

Blood. He'd made Kouji bleed.

But...that was good, wasn't it? He shook his head, completely unaware of everything except the human who lay there, eyes closed, shuddering in pain. He should leave the human, let him suffer and die. It would take out one of those who dared to fight against them.

Duskmon began to turn.

Kouji hissed, tightening harder around his middle. Duskmon's subordinate eyes all turned at once, focusing on him, and Duskmon himself stopped in his tracks. The other didn't seem aware of him at all. He wouldn't know if he left. He wouldn't know if he stayed. He'd probably prefer if Duskmon left. And yet, Duskmon did not move.

_Why?_ Why should he stay? Why should he do anything to help the stupid boy who'd given up his life for the other?

That name echoed in his mind yet again, answering the question in a way that made sense and no sense all at the same time. He should stay because this was _Kouji_ and he couldn't leave him.

"Takuya? Kouji?" One of the other humans. He didn't know which one and he didn't care. But something sharp and cold shot through him at the same time, a frisson of jealousy he would never admit to feeling at all. They wanted Kouji.

They could not have him. _No one_ could. Kouji was his. His to kill. His to save. His to do anything with, no matter what 'anything' might be.

Duskmon moved swifter than human or Digimon eyes could perceive. He scooped the boy up in his arms and before the shadows that poured from him parted, no trace remained at all of either him or Kouji.

He didn't know where to go, other than 'away'. He couldn't take Kouji to their base. Cherubimon-sama would demand his death at once, and Duskmon knew he couldn't let that happen. Not yet.

_I'll kill him, but I will decide when that happens._ There were too many questions rising in the back of his mind for him to want to do anything else. Questions that he knew Kouji had the answers to, because if he didn't, who would? Something wasn't _right_. It wasn't a feeling he'd ever had before.

Not that he could remember many feelings. He'd spent his life waiting for Cherubimon-sama's orders, not bothering with anything else other than watching Grottmon and the others make fools of themselves. How long had that been? Weeks? Months? It didn't feel like long at all.

He had to have existed before that. But who he'd been then, he no longer remembered. He'd never asked Cherubimon-sama. He'd never felt an urge to. It just didn't matter. All of his past was lost in the darkness, and he was the Warrior of Darkness, and that was all he'd deemed it necessary to know. Until now.

Duskmon stared down at Kouji, the blood-scent stronger in his nostrils now. He had to do something. Humans who evolved into Digimon took damage in battles, or so he'd observed from the little watching he'd done of them. He couldn't tell if this was more or less than what they would have otherwise, but one thing was plain: Kouji needed assistance of some kind, and the only kind he would get would be what Duskmon himself provided.

Very well. Then he'd get it. This was the Continent of Darkness, _his_ land, and if anyone could find ways to help, then he was that one.

But first, he needed a place of safety. It wasn't hard to find; few Digimon would bother him anyway. If any of them dared to attack, he would make certain they regretted it. The human children wouldn't dare approach him while he had Kouji, either.

A deep cave, with an ice-cold stream a short distance away, gave him the safety he wanted. Thick moss covered the back and sides of the cave and he settled Kouji there before he set off in search of other items he would need. He'd never hunted them for himself, but listening to Cherubimon's other warriors provided important clues.

_Spotted green mushrooms, that's what Grottmon said._ Those mushrooms, when eaten, would help toward healing. At least that was what Grottmon _said_. Duskmon couldn't bring himself to believe it without reservations, not until he saw it with his own eyes.

He cast back and forth, keeping at least part of his attention focused toward the cave. He didn't think Kouji would escape while he was away, since so far as he was aware, the boy still hadn't regained full consciousness. Yet the scent of blood in the air worried him. Perhaps he should take the time to clean that up once he found the mushrooms. Who knew how long he'd have to watch over Kouji...

For a moment he hesitated, torn. _Cherubimon-sama will know._ Nothing escaped his master's knowledge. It wouldn't matter if he brought Kouji to the base or not, Cherubimon would _know_.

Duskmon shook his head and started to search once again. What was done was done. If Cherubimon-sama chose to punish him, then he'd accept it. But even in the face of his master's fury, he could not let Kouji die. Not like this. Not without answers to the questions that simmered in the back of his mind, so far back he only knew they existed _as_ questions.

Once he had those answers, of course, he would finish the Warrior of Light off without a second thought. No other hand but his would bring about _that_ end.

Which led him right back to where he was now, searching for a remedy for the damage he'd done.

* * *

Kouji didn't want to wake up. The burning pain in his ribs and stomach gave a very clear reason on why. He kept his eyes closed, doing his best not to move, mostly because if he did, his guts churned and he had to fight to keep from throwing up. He bit his lip as hard as he could and tried to make some sort of sense out of what was going on.

The trouble with that was, so little of what he remembered made any sense whatsoever. They'd fought Duskmon. Duskmon barely noticed they existed. He'd targeted Agnimon, an attack that would've killed him. Kouji didn't doubt that Duskmon fully intended to kill the other. So he'd jumped in between them, taking the brunt of the blow on himself.

That much made sense. After that, nothing did. In truth, he wasn't certain _what_ happened after that, only a sense of being carried somewhere. Now he found himself on a soft moss bed.

_Where's Takuya?_ He needed to know if the other was all right. He needed to know if _everyone_ was all right. What had Duskmon done to them?

He thought about cracking his eyes open and changed his mind. Just considering it made him even sicker to his stomach. His ribs throbbed and he shifted one hand as best he could to try to figure out how badly he hurt. In all their months of fighting, he'd never hurt like this afterward. Was it because of Duskmon? He couldn't think of any other reason.

Kouji took in a single deep breath and winced. _I shouldn't have done that._ He tried to touch his ribs again and shuddered. _I don't think anything's broken. But bruised._ And bleeding. Something wet and sticky trickled down his side. He knew what it was, even without seeing it for himself.

"Takuya?" He breathed the word out, addressing the moss on which he lay more than anything else. "Izumi? Junpei? Tomoki?"

No answer came to anything he said and he wondered if perhaps they just hadn't heard him. He couldn't hear anything going on around him, truth to tell, not even the warm crackle of a fire or the sounds of people trying not to wake an injured person up. For all he could tell, he'd been laid down where he was and abandoned.

His friends wouldn't do that, which led him to believe that someone else had.

Slowly, reluctantly, he dragged his eyes open and lifted his head just a fraction, fighting back the nausea. He had to find out what was going on, even if he ended up throwing up because of it.

All that met his gaze when he got his eyes open was the far side of a cave, just as covered with thick, rich, dark green moss as the floor beneath him. He closed his eyes again and turned his head, not wanting to start moving around too much just yet, not with how he hurt.

_I wish I had an aspirin. Or ten._ They'd never bothered with any kind of painkillers until now. They'd never needed them, since their injuries were either too minor to worry about or healed soon after they reverted to their human forms.

When he opened his eyes again, this time he could see the opening of the cave, half-covered in thick bushes and more moss, making it hard for anyone to look inside. What he didn't see were any of the other Chosen, much less anything like a campfire or anything else he might've expected.

_Where are they?_ In the normal course of events, Kouji knew he would've gotten to his feet and hurried out to find his friends. But in the normal course of events, he wouldn't have been here in the first place.

He closed his eyes and sank back down, what little energy he'd stored up ebbing away. Wherever they were, they would have to stay there until he could go find them, and he didn't think that would be any time soon.

_Forget about where they are. Where am I? How'd I get here?_ He recalled that faint sensation of someone carrying him somewhere. Had some Digimon come along and picked him up? They knew almost nothing about the Digimon who lived here in the Dark Continent, so it wasn't impossible. He doubted it would be any of their enemies. Any of _those_ would've been just as happy to stab him where he lay.

First things first. He'd get himself back into shape and then he'd go find the others. Then they'd try to figure out what to do about Duskmon.

The very thought of the dark warrior sent chills down Kouji's spine. He'd never encountered anyone like him before. Yet that didn't shake the feeling that perhaps, somehow, he _should_ have. Something about Duskmon called to a part of himself he'd never thought about before, never even known existed before.

_He's our enemy. He tried to kill Takuya. He wants to kill us all._ Every word of that rang true, but it didn't change the way his heart thudded at the very thought of Duskmon. Fear didn't even begin to cover what he felt.

Later. He'd work with that later. He wanted whoever it was that brought him here to show up so he could get some answers, and maybe some food.

His stomach growled. _Definitely food._

He let himself relax. He'd need all the strength he could get soon enough.

_I hope Takuya's all right._ Why would whoever had taken him not bring the others along? Why would someone else even take him in the first place? Too many questions and not nearly enough answers, and he didn't even know where to begin to look for the answers.

Kouji'd almost drifted back to sleep when something brought his eyes wide open. He wasn't sure of what, only that he knew he wasn't alone anymore. _Good, now I can find out who this is._ He started to sit up, bracing himself on one elbow, and opened his mouth to greet the other before turning to look.

"Stay where you are. You're still injured."

Ice replaced the blood in Kouji's veins. He'd only heard it a scant handful of times, but he couldn't mistake it for anyone else's voice, ever. It took him three tries to utter a single word.

"Duskmon."

The dark warrior stepped closer and only now did Kouji realize how high the ceiling in this cave was, more than enough for Duskmon to stand to his full height. All of those eyes turned on him, cold and merciless, aching for his death...

Duskmon stepped closer, bent down, and dropped a handful of mushrooms in front of him. "Eat those. They'll help heal you."

Kouji stared from the fungus to his enemy. Every instinct he owned told him to get to his feet and evolve, striking his hardest blow. His common sense told him Duskmon could break his arm in five places before he ever got the chance to so much as stand up. His appetite told him to eat the mushrooms.

"Why should I believe you?" Even in the Digital World, where meat grew on trees and other trees could show images of home, his enemy taking care of him made no sense.

"I don't care if you do or not. But eat before I push it down your throat." From the tilt of those eyes, Duskmon wasn't joking. Kouji didn't think the other knew how to joke. Which meant if those mushrooms _could_ help him, then Duskmon wanted him alive.

Frankly, that scared Kouji more than anything short of Duskmon's very existence. But given a choice between eating freely and having something forced down him, he reached for the mushrooms. They weren't very tasty, but the moment one passed his lips, his eyes widened in surprise. The pain in his ribs ebbed, not fading entirely, but enough so he could sit up and perhaps even move around some. He finished them quickly, washing them down with a drink of water Duskmon also provided, a battered twist of hollowed out root serving as a cup.

"Why are you doing this?" Kouji finally asked, looking over to where the other leaned against the wall of the cave. "What is it that you want?" He wasn't certain of what answers he expected, or even if he'd get any, so he wasn't surprised when Duskmon said nothing at all. He only continued to stare at Kouji, as if the other carried answers he himself wanted.

He wasn't going to just sit there himself, though. "Where are my friends? Where are we?"

"I don't know where they are." He doubted Duskmon cared, either. "We're in a safe place." That also didn't surprise Kouji. Who in their right mind would attack Duskmon?

_Takuya._ Well, he wasn't all that certain if Takuya were in his right mind, but other than that...

Other questions skittered through his thoughts, but he wasn't sure how to voice any of them, especially since most of them were variations on the one Duskmon hadn't answered: why had he done this in the first place? Perhaps Duskmon didn't even know himself, if the looks those eyes on his shoulders and legs kept shooting him meant anything.

"How long are you going to keep me here?" Perhaps that would tell him something. Presuming that Duskmon answered it in the first place.

"As long as I choose." Duskmon bit the words off, not looking at him, not with his head, anyway.

None of that improved Kouji's mood, much less made him feel any safer about being here in the first place. _Was this what everyone else used to feel like about me?_ A silent figure of the shadows that spoke only rarely and never to say anything reassuring...

Before he could go very far down that trail of thought, a yawn caught him and Kouji did what he could to stifle it. He didn't know what else those mushrooms did, but he definitely wanted to get some sleep. Not the quasi-rest of being too drained from his injury to move, but actual _sleep_.

Remembering the wound, he lifted his shirt and ran one hand over his ribs, tense for the slightest hint of pain. He was almost more surprised when they twinged instead of aching. It was a sharp twinge and one he didn't want to repeat, but much better than how he'd felt before. _I've got to find some more of those mushrooms!_ He wasn't sure he even remembered what they looked like; he'd recognized them more from their shape and scent than their looks, given how dark the cave was.

_Wonder if that's all he plans to give me._ Not that Kouji intended to confine himself to just what Duskmon brought him to eat. He glanced toward the opening of the cave, wondering what else he could find out there. _Maybe a meat apple tree?_ He had a bit of a taste for those, and the thought of a good juicy one made his stomach rumble.

He tucked his shirt back down and got himself as comfortable as he could. At least it wasn't cold to the point he really _needed_ a fire. The thought of gathering wood and finding something to light it with sent a shiver through him.

"You're going to stay here until you're healed completely." Duskmon didn't appear to take no for an answer. Kouji lifted his head and glared at him.

"Why?" It didn't matter how often Duskmon refused to tell him the answer. He _wanted_ an answer nevertheless, whether or not he understood it.

Again, there was no reply. Despite how dark it was, Duskmon still seemed capable of seeing him. Kouji didn't drop his gaze, doing his best to bore into through the other with the force of his anger.

Duskmon remained silent and stared at him. Kouji's hands tightened on the moss beneath him. He knew he could evolve; he could feel the weight of his Digivice in his jacket pocket. But what good would that do when nothing they'd done combined had so much as mussed Duskmon's hair?

Maybe it would at least give him the chance to get out of there. He couldn't stay forever. He would have to meet back up with the others, see if Takuya was all right, and then together they could figure out what to do next.

_Maybe if I stay here, that'll give us some answers?_ He doubted Duskmon had any kind of secret weakness that would get revealed by spending a day or so there, but just learning more couldn't hurt anything.

Not to mention, it made a very convenient excuse for staying. There was also the fact that he still couldn't quite move without pain. If he did try to give Duskmon the slip, the other could probably catch him before he'd gotten past the cave mouth, assuming he didn't realize from the first moment Kouji moved what he had in mind and do something about it.

Silence stretched between the two of them, but Kouji couldn't find it all that wrong. If anything, it felt oddly _right_. He tried to shake it off, not liking feeling anything right about the other. _I wonder what he thinks about this._ No hint of whatever Duskmon might think about any of this made it past the other's armor, though. He stood there as if carved out of ebony and shadows, staring at something Kouji either couldn't see or that wasn't there at all. Kouji decided he didn't want to know which it was.

As tired as Kouji was, he didn't really want to sleep, not with those eyes staring at him from the darkness. It wouldn't make any sense at all for Duskmon to attack him while he slept, but that didn't make him any more comfortable.

_I don't think anything's made sense since the day I got here. Why should it start to now?_ It might not make sense for Duskmon to attack him after helping him, but that wouldn't stop Duskmon from doing it if he wanted to. The question just was, would he do it and what would Kouji be able to do about it if he tried?

Try as he might, Kouji's eyes just wouldn't stay open. Inch by inch he slipped down into a deeper rest than any he'd had before, and the last thing he saw were those eyes, still staring at him.

**To Be Continued**


	2. Escape

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Frontier  
**Title:** Shadow of Light: 2-4: Escape  
**Characters:** Kouji, Kouichi (Duskmon)  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,526||story: 7,016  
**Genre:** Drama, Angst||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** Injured after Duskmon's attack, Kouji shouldn't have been able to get away. But he was the only one not caught by Mercuremon and Ranamon. Perhaps this is why.

* * *

Duskmon listened as Kouji's breathing slowed and deepened, until the other stretched out on the moss and slept. He knew he would need to rest as well, but he couldn't bring himself to close his eyes just yet. He wanted to; he needed to, yet the idea of leaving Kouji unguarded for even a single second infuriated him.

_He won't leave. He can't leave._ Kouji wasn't healed yet and he wasn't stupid enough not to know that. Yet if the other wanted to flee, he might ignore his injuries anyway. Humans could be stupid like that.

Yet he didn't think Kouji could get away without disturbing him, even if he slept. So perhaps he could close his eyes for a few hours. He'd certainly wake up before Kouji did. Both of them would need food as well; he'd seen a few trees that would be able to provide.

Taking care of someone else was harder than he'd ever imagined. Keeping Kouji protected from anything or anyone that wanted to hurt him, making certain they both ate, drank, and rested, taking care of Kouji's injuries...

Somewhere in the deepest depths of his mind, an image flickered. Less than a heartbeat, less than a single breath, there and gone too quickly for him to even understand it was there in the first place, but it left behind a sense stronger than any other: this wasn't the first time he'd taken care of someone's injuries. Who, he didn't know. But he _knew_.

Slowly his teeth ground against one another and it took all of his self-control not to seize Kouji by the throat and slam him against the wall and demand to know the answers that he _knew_ lurked in the other's mind, whether Kouji knew they were there or not.

_Soon enough._ He would get his answers, even if he had to tear them screaming out of Kouji's mind. He refused to exist without them. But the longer he spent any time near Kouji, the more certain he became there was something more between them. Something he couldn't explain yet. A sense of knowing that echoed in the deepest depths and he _burned_ to know the truth of it all. He didn't know _how_ this bond could exist; he was a Digimon and Kouji was a human, but the facts, or the feelings, remained unchanged.

He pushed himself away from the wall and headed out of the cave mouth, all thoughts of sleep fled for the moment. As much as he wanted to remain and guard Kouji's slumber, perhaps that was best done from a distance for now. Mercuremon and Ranamon would likely come searching for Arbormon sooner or later and he refused to let them find Kouji, not when the other couldn't yet defend himself properly.

_He's mine._ As much as the thought of what Kouji might know infuriated him, he still wouldn't let anyone else hurt him. He would warn the other two. They could do whatever they liked to the other humans, but Kouji was off-limits. If only they had something to keep them occupied while Kouji recovered...

Something oddly similiar to a smile flickered across his lips as he strode along. Yes. That was it. He would find the other humans and inform Ranamon and Mercuremon of where they were. That would keep them occupied for hours, if not days, giving Kouji time to recover, and him time to decide exactly how to get the information he wanted from the boy.

Silent as only darkness could be, he slid through the night, every sense aware for humans or Digimon. He would find them, wherever they were, and deliver them into the hands of his 'allies'. And when all of this was over, he would have his answers, and Cherubimon-sama would have his victory.

* * *

"Kouji! Takuya!" Junpei cupped his hands around his mouth and called with all of his strength. He'd lost track of how long they'd searched for their missing friends, and received nothing but empty echoes for answers. A few Pipismon flapped by, calling as well. Junpei didn't mind; maybe they would find something and a message could get back? Somehow?

He called a few more times before sighing and turning his steps back to where Bokomon and Neemon waited. Tomoki and Izumi would be there soon enough, if they weren't already, and maybe they'd picked up something that he hadn't.

_What happened?_ He still couldn't figure it out. Duskmon attacked Agnimon, Garmmon got in the way, and Duskmon stepped back as if confused, before darkness fell over the whole area, and when it lifted, only three Legendary Warriors and two Digimon remained.

"Junpei-han!" Bokomon waved from where he sat beside the small fire they'd built. "Any luck?"

He shook his head, slumping downward. "Nothing." Izumi and Tomoki weren't back yet. That kept a small kernel of hope burning bright within his heart. "I still think Duskmon's responsible." It was the only thing that made any sense. The dark warrior wanted to kill them all and this was probably how he planned to do it. He'd probably turn up as soon as he was done with Kouji and Takuya and go for them.

Neither Bokomon nor Neemon could say anything that held a chance of lifting his hopes right now. He poked a long stick into the fire, watching the sparks fly up into the heavens. It didn't give off as much light as fires in other parts of the Digital World did, or at least he didn't think so. It might've just been him.

"No luck either?" Izumi said as she fluttered down to the ground and changed back to her ordinary self. Junpei shook his head and she sighed, taking a seat on the opposite side of the fire. "We can't give up hope."

Junpei picked up a strange piece of fruit gathered by Bokomon and Neemon while the warriors searched for their friends. "I know." It didn't make just sitting here without any sign any better. He started to peel the fruit, which had an odd fragrance something like an orange, despite being a dark blue. He didn't really feel like he wanted to eat, but they had to keep their strength up so they could continue the search. Whether or not Duskmon was responsible for said disappearance, they had to _look_.

Tomoki turned up a short while later, with the same lack of success the other two had. The empty spaces around the fire seemed almost to scream at them, to laugh and mock that after all their efforts to work together and be a team, all it took was one of their enemies and a single attack to shatter all of that.

"We'll go in the same direction tomorrow. Just in case one of us catches something the others miss." Junpei said, hating how his voice sounded breaking into the silence. Tomoki and Izumi both nodded; taking different directions hadn't turned up anything, so they might as well try something new.

Junpei poked the fire again. He wasn't good at this and deep down, he knew it. But someone had to make the decisions or they'd just end up flopping around and getting nothing at all accomplished.

He looked up into the darkness as it pressed close around them. Everything outside their little circle of firelight seemed a little darker, more oppressive now. Eyes blinked back at him; probably a Pipismon or some other dark-dwelling Digimon. None of them came closer, though he could hear little rustling noises from all around.

"You guys get some rest. I'll stand the first watch." He kept staring into the fire. He didn't think he'd get any sleep tonight even if he tried.

Tomoki didn't argue at all, but curled up with his cap underneath his head. Izumi glanced toward him once or twice, but didn't say anything else. None of them had really felt like saying anything as the hours dragged on and on.

"Don't forget to wake me up," she said at last. "Staying up all night's not good for anyone."

"Right." He smiled back at her, trying to reassure her and certain he failed miserably. He didn't _feel_ like smiling.

Izumi made herself comfortable, and so far as Junpei could tell, she was asleep in a very few minutes. He poked at the flames once again, straining his ears as much as he could to catch any sound that might be important, any footsteps or noises that could be their friends coming back or their enemies coming around.

Telling those sounds apart from the sounds of the forest settling for sleep, or rising to roam around, was the hard part, and despite how much he'd learned in their months here, he still couldn't do it as well as he would've liked.

_Where are you guys?_ What made it even crazier was that there weren't any footprints leading away. He wasn't any kind of awesome tracker, but there should have been something. What worried him more was what little bit of a trail they had found in that clearing where they'd fought Duskmon: a few drops of blood that they all feared had come from Kouji. That made it even more important that they find him. He couldn't fight back against Duskmon in the condition he was in. He couldn't fight against anyone, even if Duskmon wasn't involved.

How long had it been? Hours, maybe even close to a day. Maybe longer. Without a sun in the sky and without a watch, he couldn't be sure. It was too long, though. He knew that much.

"Do you guys..." He broke off when he looked up to see Neemon leaning against Bokomon's shoulder, and both of them sound asleep. _Guess it's just me._

He rubbed at one eye and bit back a sigh before he looked up into the darkness once again. He didn't need to worry, he told himself. Nothing out there could defeat a Legendary Warrior...at least, nothing short of another one.

It was just their luck there were three others out there who wanted to do just that.

* * *

Duskmon stood in the shadows, far closer than the Warrior of Thunder would've wanted, watching the small group. They were too close to his chosen lair, he decided. Perhaps only luck had kept them from finding where he kept Kouji already.

He slipped away, the darkness wrapping around him like a warm, comfortable cloak. Mercuremon and Ranamon would want to know this. More, _he_ wanted them to know it.

It would've been too easy to attack them where they slept, to wipe away all three of them and their two hangers-on before he turned his attention back to Kouji. The downside of that would be that it would release his two 'allies' to pester him about the Warrior of Light and he would have none of that.

All those questions still surged and seethed in the back of his mind, faint whispers of who and where and why and how that didn't form into anything but merely hummed and mused, waiting for him to pay attentiont to them. He didn't like it. He didn't like any of it. He'd been _happy_ in the silence of the shadows, waiting to take on the Legendary Warriors and destroy them one and all.

Only for a single name to shatter his peace and change his goals.

Well, perhaps not 'change'. Only 'slow down'. He wouldn't leave the path that led to Cherubimon-sama's victory. He wouldn't even let himself be detoured. But he could take his time about it and make certain there wasn't anything about Kouji that would hamper that path.

Again and again his thoughts returned to Kouji. The metallic scent of blood had faded from his nostrils, though the memory alone of it was enough to make him want to rush back to the cave and make certain the other hadn't died.

He couldn't. Not yet. Not until the next stage of his plan was put into motion.

Still, none of that stopped the questions from taunting him. Why did Kouji's very name send all of those _feelings_ through him? Why did images from a past he hadn't even thought about in _forever_ go through his mind? There was no way that he could be connected to a human.

Yet, Kouji wasn't entirely human, was he? He was also a Digimon, the Warrior of Light, mirror to himself, the Warrior of Darkness. That forged a connection of some kind. Kouji knew it as well as he did; he'd seen it in the other's eyes when they first crossed swords. But that didn't answer enough so far as he was concerned. It didn't even come close. It didn't even address that faint flicker of having tended another human's injuries at some point.

_I'll have the answers from him._ As soon as Kouji's injuries healed to the point he could survive the kind of questioning Duskmon intended to put him through, then he would _know_. He wanted to put all of this confusion to rest once and for all. Then he'd pierce Kouji to the heart and bring all of the world into a never-ending darkness.

It didn't take him long to return to their headquarters, and even less time to find Mercuremon and Ranamon. Indeed, he could hear Ranamon's ranting from outside the headquarters itself.

"He's going to have all the fun!" She squalled as he stepped into the room, one finger waving in front of Mercuremon's nose. The Warrior of Steel's face held no expression at all, but Duskmon would've wagered quite a bit that he appreciated the interruption.

"Duskmon." He moved a trifle away from Ranamon. "I see you did something after all."

"What, finished them already?" Ranamon pouted, arms crossed over her chest. "Didn't even save us one, did you?"

Duskmon barely looked at her, focusing his attention on Mercuremon instead. "The Warriors of Wind, Ice, and Thunder are in the Continent of Darkness. Take care of them."

Mercuremon tilted his head a fraction. "And what will you be doing?"

"None of your concern. You are more than welcome to them." He didn't even want them knowing the he had Kouji in his grip. "I'm certain Cherubimon-sama will appreciate your efforts."

The two exchanged looks, then both looked back at him. "What happened to Arbormon? He was there too, you know." Ranamon wanted to know. Suspicion was no bad thing in this group. He'd head the humans' amazement at how he'd struck down an 'ally' when he'd finished off Arbormon. He didn't have allies. He had Digimon that he spoke with on occasion and who happened to work for Cherubimon-sama as he did.

"Defeated, and his spirits taken." Why go to all the trouble of telling them he had one of them himself? "They're busy looking for their missing friends and will be easy prey."

"And where are those friends?" Mercuremon asked, the faintest hint of caution in his tone.

"I don't know." A half-truth; he knew exactly where Kouji was, but the Warrior of Flame's location not only wasn't known, but he didn't care to know. "They both vanished after my attack. I will be searching for them."

Ranamon grinned suddenly, eyes bright with the desire for pain. "You do that! Leave those little brats to us!"

Duskmon waited no longer, but faded back into the shadows. It meant nothing to him on if they believed him or not; only that they did as he wanted for now.

**Duskmon.**

Only one voice could cut through his shadows like that. He nodded slowly. "Cherubimon-sama?"

**Why does the Warrior of Light still live?** There was no warning or threat in his master's voice, only the desire for answers.

Duskmon didn't hesitate in his answer. "I want him to heal, in order to fight him at his full strength. Killing him now would be a waste." It wasn't an entire lie. He could only hope that Cherubimon didn't probe farther.

**I see. You wish to take him out when he is at the peak of his power.**

"No matter how strong he is, he is no match for me." That, at the least, was the unvarnished truth. Answers, then death. That was the proper order of matters.

Nothing else came from Cherubimon and Duskmon refused to believe he sighed in relief. He couldn't lie to his master, nor would have if he could. He simply chose to interpret his orders a little creatively when he needed to.

* * *

Kouji had no idea of how long he slept or how long Duskmon had been gone when he finally woke up. He pressed his hand against the cut on his side, anticipating the pain and doing what he could to ride it through. _I could use some more of those mushrooms._ His stomach rumbled fiercely and his throat burned with dryness. _And something to eat. And drink._

His attention fastened onto something else: Duskmon wasn't there. Part of Kouji relaxed at that; anything was better than being stared at by all of those eyes, asking questions he didn't have answers to. The rest of him remained wary and tense, wanting to know where Duskmon was and why he'd left in the first place. Was he searching for more food or something else to heal Kouji? Or bringing Ranamon and Mercuremon here to have a share in finishing him off?

It didn't matter. He was gone and Kouji wasn't going to stick around here any longer than he had to. He took several deep breaths before he began to push himself to his feet. His legs trembled as he stumbled upward and he fumbled quickly for something to brace himself against. A conveinent pile of rocks, luckily covered in the moss all over the cavern, gave him something to lean on and he breathed harder, one arm pressed over his injury.

The cut must've scabbed over, he realized, but now the scab broke open, and a trickle of warm blood traced down once again. He leaned on the rocks, waiting until he could get himself going again, listening with all of his might for the slightest hint of Duskmon returning.

Once he felt ready to move again, he began to limp toward the cave mouth. His first goal was to find some sort of water. He could manage food after that, but water was the first and most important necessity. The more attention he paid, the more he thought he heard a trickle as of water over stones coming from somewhere outside. He took more and more stumbling steps, his head clearing more as he did so.

There wasn't any real transition from inside the cave to outside of it, just a faint hint of wind that caressed through his messy hair. He wanted that water for more than just drinking; he needed to get himself cleaned up entirely. His shirt needed washing, _he_ needed washing; who knew what the scent of blood could bring?

Well, so long as it didn't bring Duskmon, he thought he could handle it. Or give a good enough show that whatever did show up would leave.

Not too far from the cave mouth, he spied the trickling stream he'd heard, glinting faintly, reflecting the palest of light from above. He hurried his steps, wincing at the throbbing pain that grew worse with each movement. _Find. Those. Mushrooms._ Or better yet, find everyone else and not have to worry about Duskmon swooping down on him.

Kouji realized even as he staggered up to the stream that he was quite a lot weaker than he'd thought he was, as his feet finally slipped from underneath him and he caught himself from landing face-first in the stream only by the thinnest of margins. He scooped up handful after handful of water as soon as he could do so, quenching his thirst with all due speed. He'd lost track of how much he'd drunk before he finally relaxed, slumping down on the moss-covered boulders. Already he wanted to close his eyes and sleep again and he couldn't let himself do it.

_Duskmon could be back any second._ That, more than anything, stirred him to drag himself back to his feet. Everything else took second to the thought of getting away. He decided to follow the stream for now; he'd need water again, and he could probably find food growing closer to it than anywhere else.

He moved along carefully, taking his time, not wanting to risk tripping and falling. He hated the fact he left muddy footprints in the soft earth by the stream, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. All he had to do was stay unfound long enough to get healed to where he could evolve and fight back, then Duskmon could find him all that he wanted.

Not that the idea of being found at all, at any point, appealed to him. He'd seen something in that dark warrior's eyes (the two on his face, anyway) that shook him uncontrollably. Until he could find out what that was, he would prefer not to face Duskmon at all.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Recapture

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. **Fandom:** Digimon Frontier  
**Title:** Shadow of Light: 3-4: Recapture  
**Characters:** Kouji, Kouichi (Duskmon)  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,325||story: 10,341  
**Genre:** Drama, Angst||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** Injured after Duskmon's attack, Kouji shouldn't have been able to get away. But he was the only one not caught by Mercuremon and Ranamon. Perhaps this is why.

* * *

Kouji couldn't keep track of how long he'd walked. The Dark Continent didn't have much in the way of sun or stars to mark the time by, and he couldn't even use how tired he was, given his injuries. Still, he thought he'd gone a long way when he finally decided to stop and rest. He couldn't see the mouth of the cave at least. That had to count for something.

A tree heavy with fruit loomed over the stream with a rock slab jutting out beside it, providing a good place for him to rest and have a snack. Kouji settled down there, pulling a blue-skinned fruit from it, and peeling it. He hadn't seen anything like this before, but it tasted much like an orange. Even better, it didn't need cooking.

He tested his ribs and the cut on his side again. Whatever was in those mushrooms certainly did its work well; while blood still crusted his skin, there was little more than a reddish line down his side that did hurt when he pressed at it. His ribs twinged when he touched those as well; he wasn't healed by a long shot. Not entirely, not enough to fight even if Duskmon, Ranamon, and Mercuremon all came at him at the same time.

So, find more of those mushrooms, find a safe place to hole up, and find his friends, in any given order.

He ate two more of the blue fruit before he decided he'd had enough and buried the peels under a pile of rock, not wanting to leave behind any evidence that he'd been here that he could avoid. Bad enough his footprints gave him away in the muddier areas. He didn't need something else blaring that he'd been this way.

As soon as he could, he got back to his feet and headed on his way. Some of his nervousness eased when he spied a long stretch of rocky ground a short distance ahead, one that extended far enough ahead that it would conceal his passage for quite some time. He didn't know where it might lead him, but it was better than staying out in the open like this.

What he didn't like was that the quasi-path led away from the stream and from the trees, which meant away from convenient food. Given his situation so far, Kouji decided to err on the side of safety. He could always find more food and water somewhere else. Finding shelter and safety was a little harder.

_Funny. I spend all of that time not wanting to hang out with those guys when I get here, and now I want to find them again._ Kouji couldn't help a small smile at the thought. Without even trying, each and every one of them had wormed their way into his heart.

He tried not to think about Takuya and how badly off he might be. He couldn't quite remember everything that happened after Duskmon's blade struck him, but Takuya wasn't exactly known for his smart decisions. The entire fight with Duskmon was a case in point there. Though maybe after this, he'd _finally_ learned something? All Kouji could do was hope.

The young Warrior of Light kept trudging on, doing all that he could to watch his own back and watch for any signs of his friends as well. His heart jumped suddenly when he spied a thin trail of smoke arising through the trees and did his best to hurry up, even as his body shrieked in pain from the unwise moving.

_Damn it, body, this is not the time!_ He didn't _need_ this, didn't need to have his chest and ribs and legs all aching to the point he almost couldn't walk at any farther than a semi-brisk walk. He needed to move through this area as fast as he could, and it wasn't happening.

A tumbled spread of rocks and trees stretched out ahead of him and Kouji concentrated on getting there. The smoke rose up from there, and he hoped that meant his friends. Granted, Digimon made fires just as well as they did, but this land didn't have as many of them as the others they'd passed through did. At the very least, he'd be able to ask whoever it was if they'd seen his friends.

His cautious side spoke up at once. _Unless whoever has that fire works for Ranamon or Mercuremon._ He didn't think they'd work for Duskmon. He didn't seem the type to have servants of any kind. But Ranamon'd recruited Digimon more than once to do her bidding and he doubted Mercuremon would shy away from it as well.

So, he'd approach the fire with care. Whatever lay ahead, he wasn't going to hide from it.

* * *

Duskmon stood inside the cave where he'd left Kouji, all of his eyes burning with untold fury. How _dare_ Kouji run away? Had he done anything to harm him, despite having every right to do so? He'd done everything he could to _help_ the boy! He'd brought him food and water, given him a safe place to sleep, and even distracted Mercuremon and Ranamon when they might have come looking for him.

And how was he repaid? By the boy running away. Such a foolish child, wanting to flee the enemy who at least took care of him, for the risks of enemies who'd kill him without thought.

_He can't be that far. He's too hurt._ The mushrooms would have helped, but Kouji would need more before he was at his peak again. He'd already gone to the trouble of gathering enough that would finish the healing.

Then once Kouji could handle the questioning...Duskmon looked forward to that. He wanted the questions that roiled in his mind answered, and the sooner the better. Kouji running away interrupted that, and Duskmon didn't appreciate his plans being interrupted.

He tossed the mushrooms into a corner of the cave; he wouldn't need them without Kouji there. Now, if he were an injured human (what a ridiculous concept!), where would he go? Water, food, those would be needs, of course. The same that he'd thought of when choosing this place. Kouji would have an extra issue: he wouldn't want Duskmon to find him.

As if Kouji could prevent that, here in the land where the power rang through Duskmon's veins as surely as blood coursed through Kouji's. The land itself would give Duskmon strength and tell him where those he searched for hid.

Why else had he waited until they'd entered his land before he attacked the Warriors? They could do him no genuine harm while they fought him here, and they didn't know. Foolish children.

Swift as a shadow, he slid out of the cave and leaped to the top of the nearest tree, searching for the traces Kouji would most definitely have left behind. Mercuremon and Ranamon would be in the area, and he wanted to make certain they came nowhere near Kouji. He cursed once again at Kouji's careless actions. He would have to _speak_ to the child once he found him and make certain he understood not to do that again.

It didn't take long at all to find the first traces: footprints in the mud by the stream. Just as he'd thought, Kouji wanted water. This hunt would be too easy.

Kouji could never hide from him, as the light could never hide from the dark.

* * *

If it weren't for the prospect of some fun and torture, Ranamon wouldn't have bothered to leave their headquarters at all. She _hated_ the Continent of Darkness; there wasn't enough water around in large enough quantities to satisfy her, there weren't nearly enough Digimon around to admire her beauty, and most of all, it was _Duskmon's_ territory. The fact he'd told them where three of those brats were didn't mean anything. She didn't like him. She didn't _trust_ him. She'd sooner trust Mercuremon, and she knew very well that he had far more plans than she knew the details of.

"So, where are they?" She stamped one foot, glaring at her companion. If Duskmon wanted to help, he could've captured the three and handed them over with a neat bow on them. Instead, they had to search their way through forests teeming with bugs and wildlife and everything else she had no use for.

"Close." Mercuremon pulled aside several vines and continued onward, his attention on something ahead of them. "We'll find them soon."

She sighed, muttering words under her breath at odds with her personal image of being a lady. Only Mercuremon was there to hear her, and she suspected he didn't consider her a lady.

"So where is 'close'?" And what were the odds they could find all five? Just because Duskmon said he wanted the other two didn't mean that she didn't want them all to play with. Why not have the complete set? Cherubimon-sama would be _so_ pleased with them.

Mercuremon said nothing, but kept going, waving her to silence as he did. Her eyes narrowed as she followed him. _If he doesn't start answering me, I'm going to rust him solid!_ A delicious deluge of water would teach the uppity Warrior of Steel better manners.

She drew breath to remind of this when he waved once again to her and gestured ahead of them, parting the branches of the trees before them with his other hand. She peered half out of curiosity, half from annoyance, and grinned at the sight before her.

"We've got them." She barely breathed the words; they'd lost their targets too many times for her to run the risk of it happening now.

Mercuremon only nodded and stepped back, a thoughtful tilt to his head. "We'll strike before they wake up."

Ranamon agreed; only one of them stood on guard, the annoying little girl she'd made her mind up that she would take out personally. "Don't worry. I've got it taken care of."

Before she could make another move, Mercuremon shook his head once again. "Not yet."

"What?!" Ranamon stomped first one foot, then another; how dare he keep her from doing what they'd come here to do? What was going through that too polished mind of his?

Mercuremon clicked his fingers together, a sly smile appearing as he did. "Keep yourself ready." He tapped again, and three Datamon emerged from the concealment of a thick row of bushes, coming to stand in a ragged line before him. One of them saluted him.

"You called, Mercuremon-sama?" Datamon kept his voice low, warned by some sign Ranamon couldn't detect not to alert their enemies.

"I did." He indicated where the three enemy warriors rested. "Take their Digivices from them. Don't let them know you're doing it until you have them."

Ranamon rolled her eyes; this was his great idea? She'd seen seashells that could think better than this. Still, she watched as the three Digimon slid closer, moving around until they surrounded the small clearing. She crossed her arms over her chest, drumming her fingers against her upper arms. Whatever Mercuremon had in mind, it had best be good. Or more to the point, it had best _work_. If a bad plan worked, she wasn't going to argue about it, and the best plans they'd come up with had been known to fail against these humans.

Heartbeats later, surprised shrieks and cries rose up from the half-hidden clearing, and Ranamon smirked. _They actually did it!_ She bent forward to peer through the trees and wasn't surprised at all to see all three of the humans standing up and looking around for their missing property.

Mercuremon tilted his head toward her. "Now."

She didn't argue, simply pointing one finger toward the sky, clouds gathering as she exerted her power. She took a little extra time to focus herself, wanting the biggest wall of water she could manage. It would take more out of her, but the stronger it was now, the more it would drain away the strength of her enemies.

As soon as she had it to the point she wanted, she threw her hand forward, the water following her gesture like an obedient guppy. "Rain Stream!"

Her attack splashed through the trees, washing many of them from their roots, and blasting at nearly full strength into the clearing that now more closely resembled a lake. Ranamon laughed long and loud as the unexpected tidal wave crashed over them, knocking them off their feet easily.

"What's going on?" One of the boys called out frantically, and neither she nor Mercuremon could fail to answer.

"We're what's going on!" She declared, leaping through the trees and finding a broken stump to stand on. "You're finished!"

All three stared in wide-eyed confusion, and she took advantage of their shock to slash another whip of water toward them. This was too easy!

"What did you do with our Digivices?" The smaller boy shouted, ducking her attack as best that he could, his arms wrapped around a log with all of his strength as he tried to stay afloat.

"They're safe." Mercuremon stood beside her, his Datamon ranged behind him now, each one holding a Digivice. "But you, however, are not." He gestured once again, and the three Datamon extended extra arms, each one seizing one of the children in a grip no human could break.

Ranamon couldn't help but laugh even more as the brats struggled and failed to get away. They might not have the last two, Duskmon might still have fun with them, but that didn't mean they weren't going to have _fun_!

"What are we going to do with them, Mercuremon?" The question probably should've been 'what to do with them first', but Ranamon knew they had plenty of time to do anything and everything she wanted. In the end they and their spirits would be taken to Cherubimon-sama, of course, but until then, these brats were hers to play with.

Mercuremon eyed their captives with satisfaction. "There's a castle not that far from here. It will do until we can find the others. Let's go." He turned and stalked back the way they'd came, his Datamon following him. Ranamon hmphed and followed. Now if they could just find the other two, this would be the best day ever.

* * *

Kouji couldn't believe how lucky he'd been. He'd been able to first see that those around that fire were, of all people, his friends! Tomoki and Junpei dozed fitfully, while Izumi poked the fire with a stick and watched the area. He'd started to open his mouth to call to them when a flicker of movement on the far side of the clearing caught his attention.

He'd frozen where he was and stepped back. It could be Takuya, but what he'd seen didn't quite remind him of his friend.

_That was a reflection._ And there was only one being that could reflect just by standing there that he knew of. _Mercuremon._

He drew back as far as he could, finding a rocky upthrust large enough to conceal him. It would do well enough while he tried to work out some kind of a plan to get this dealt with.

_Mercuremon probably won't be alone. Just Ranamon or Duskmon too?_ He managed to control a shudder at the thought of Duskmon. He knew they would have to defeat him sooner or later, but he couldn't see how.

He'd fret over that later. First things first; getting the others out of whatever trap Mercuremon had in mind. He started to reach for his Digivice, just as a wave of water cascaded through the trees and washed right over him. Kouji coughed and spluttered, shaking his head in an attempt to keep his mouth and nose clear.

"What the-" He coughed again and stumbled out of the water as best he can, foot catching on a slick spot and sending him spilling forward. He closed his eyes and lay where he was for a few heartbeats, wondering what else was going to end up happening today. Whatever it was, he hoped it could wait until tomorrow. Just to give him a chance to breathe.

The fall did nothing to help his injuries, either. His ribs pulsed with more pain, and at the feeling of something liquid slowly slipping down his side, he pushed himself up just enough so he could take a look under his shirt. He wasn't surprised to find a few drops of blood there. The injury from Duskmon's sword hadn't re-opened entirely, but just enough so he thought a good bandage would take care of it.

If he could find a good bandage. Or more of those mushrooms. Those would probably work better.

He couldn't just sit here, though. He grabbed hold of a tree branch and got himself to his feet, looking around. All the water seemed to have receded into the ground already, and he could hear familiar voices coming from the clearing. Not all of them were ones he wanted to hear, either.

A few moments of wriggling through the mud and under drenched leaves, all of which dripped more water onto his back and neck, brought him to where he could see what was going on with everyone else. The fire he'd seen now was a muddled mess of blackened sticks and stones, while three Datamon held onto his friends. Mercuremon and Ranamon stood side by side, sneering down at their captives.

_Today isn't going to start getting better any time soon._ At least, it wouldn't unless he started making it go that way. He started to slide one hand into the jacket pocket where he kept his Digivice. So far as he could tell, neither Ranamon nor Mercuremon had any idea he was there. He could strike fast and get the others out, then they'd regroup and handle the pair of them.

A firm hand descended on the back of his neck from above and he found himself lifted into the air. He struggled uselessly, turning and twisting, though he knew almost from the first who had him.

"You didn't think that you'd be able to get away, did you, Kouji?" Duskmon growled into his ear. Kouji shot him the most vicious glare that he could, still trying his best to get to his Digivice. Duskmon plucked it from his hand as neatly as could be, tucking it away somewhere Kouji couldn't see. "You won't need that just yet."

Kouji struggled harder, but he knew all too well there was no chance of getting away from Duskmon. The dark warrior tossed him over his shoulder, holding him there with one firm hand.

"You have nothing to do here. And I have much to discuss with you." From the way he said 'discuss', Kouji could not help but hear 'incredible amounts of searing pain'.

"As long as my friends are here, I've got something to do." Banging his fists and feet on Duskmon's armored body wouldn't accomplish anything. That didn't stop Kouji from wanting to do it anyway, just to do something as he was so easily carried away. If he could find his Digivice, then this would be a different story altogether.

"They won't be here that much longer anyway."

Kouji couldn't see Duskmon's face from where he was positioned, but he didn't need to, not with that tone of voice. He braced himself with both hands against Duskmon's back, then kicked upward, aiming for Duskmon's head. The dark warrior only had to lean back to avoid it, and he did just that. Kouji tensed to try again, only for Duskmon to smack him on the back of his head with one hard hand.

He'd known Duskmon was stronger than he was from the moment they'd first crossed swords. He had more proof than ever as blackness surrounded him and he slumped down, consciousness drowned in shadows and pain.

**To Be Continued**


	4. Release

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Frontier  
**Title:** Shadow of Light: 4-4: Release  
**Characters:** Kouji, Kouichi (Duskmon)  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,091||story: 13,432  
**Genre:** Drama, Angst||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** Injured after Duskmon's attack, Kouji shouldn't have been able to get away. But he was the only one not caught by Mercuremon and Ranamon. Perhaps this is why.

* * *

Duskmon stepped into the cave and tossed Kouji down carelessly. He didn't worry about the other's injuries; the mushrooms still lay in a tumbled pile of their own and anything that broke open or split could be healed by them. He was still ready to shove them down Kouji's throat if he needed to. After the boy's ridiculous attempt at running away, Duskmon couldn't be certain he wouldn't be that stubborn.

Kouji groaned as he rolled into the wall. There wasn't much sense in his eyes at first when they opened, but it only took a few moments for them to clear up. He drew himself up to his hands and knees, shaking his head, then pulled himself up a little more, looking around until he spied Duskmon, whose broad bulk barred the opening the cave more effectively than any door could have.

"Where's my Digivice?" Kouji grated the words out, rubbing his hands on his pants to get rid of the grit and dirt. Duskmon doubted he was having much luck with that, but the effort was a valiant one. "And where are my friends?"

Duskmon ignored both questions. What Kouji wanted to know didn't interest him. "Who are you?" Perhaps that was a good place to begin to get the answers that _did_ interest him.

Kouji blinked and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck, staring at the other in confusion. "You're the one who hit me, remember? I should be asking that."

He started to push himself up to his feet, but Duskmon loomed closer, one hand flicking to the pile of mushrooms that had almost ended up being Kouji's bed. "Eat those. Then, we talk."

The moment Duskmon moved closer, Kouji froze in place, flickers of rage and fear mixing in his expression. Duskmon decided he liked that look. Humans, he thought, could answer more clearly when terrified. "I don't have anything to say to you except 'give me back my Digivice or else.'"

"I have plenty to say to you." Duskmon wanted to know where all those memories that he couldn't place came from. He wanted to know why the scent of Kouji's blood sent rage unlike any other coursing through his veins. He wanted to know all of this before he killed Kouji, and if it took killing Kouji to get him those answers, he had few issues with that.

Kouji ground his teeth together before he reached for the mushrooms. Duskmon could read distaste and anger in every movement, but since Kouji did as he was told, it didn't matter if he disliked it or not.

A quick look around the room revealed the cup he'd brought for Kouji the first time they were there, tossed haphazardly into a corner. Kouji's own gaze latched onto it a heartbeat later, and the two looked at one another, distrust burning strong.

Finally, Duskmon gestured for Kouji to pick it up and follow him. He wouldn't leave the boy alone in the cave even for the few moments it would take to get to the stream, and every movement of Kouji's read that he would take any chance he could to get away again. Though perhaps he'd not go that far without his Digivice.

Duskmon considered that as they stopped by the stream and Kouji got his water. Keeping the tool would make certain Kouji did as he was told, at least for now. Even he would have to sleep, eventually, and Kouji would make an attempt to find the device. He slept lightly at best, and even more so with someone else close enough to him. Kouji wouldn't find the Digivice before Duskmon could wake and stop him. Nevertheless, the best way to deal with all of this was to finish what he needed Kouji for and then dispose of him once and for all.

A thought that hadn't yet occurred to him slipped cautiously into his awareness. He didn't like it, but he had to think it through nevertheless.

_If the scent of his blood revolts me, then how can I kill him?_

Duskmon tensed at that. He didn't like the idea that he couldn't kill his opposite. He needed to. It _had_ to happen, for Cherubimon-sama's sake. He'd known that since before he'd first stepped out to do battle. He knew it every time he raised his weapons or looked at Kouji. He wanted to kill him. The boy _had to die_. He had to die by Duskmon's own hands.

And yet…and yet…

Yet…that scent. That horrid, horrid scent that reeked of pain and hurt and _this wasn't right_ and why wasn't someone else there with him? Someone important. Someone he …he…

No. It didn't matter. He couldn't falter. Couldn't be weak. He couldn't be like a _human_. He was Duskmon, Warrior of Darkness, and if it weren't for the questions he wanted answered, he would have killed the human this very second.

He wrenched himself away from his thoughts to watch Kouji finish his meal, eating each mushroom piece by piece. He didn't exactly drink the water drop by drop but he took each sip slowly, as if savoring a last meal. Perhaps he thought he was.

Perhaps he was right.

_He's trying to buy time._ Duskmon wasn't fooled. He could read Kouji's thoughts as if they were his own. He let him continue, though, for the moment. He still wanted to take Kouji down, but there was no need to rush matters. Let the human hold a spark of hope that he stood a chance of winning. It would make crushing it all the sweeter.

Yet the thought of fighting Kouji still brought back the realization that he didn't like: that the scent of Kouji's blood set his own fury blazing. It made no sense. This was his enemy, his opposite in every way. He _hated_ him. He would kill him. He would _more_ than kill him; he would _end_ Minamoto Kouji in every way that a being could be ended. The boy would be annihilated.

There were ways to kill someone that didn't involve blood. Or perhaps he'd only grown so furious because he hadn't _meant_ to shed Kouji's in that attack. He'd meant to dispose of the annoying Warrior of Flame and Kouji's self-sacrifice interrupted that.

Yes, that was the answer. He didn't like to have a kill stolen. Why would Kouji even do that? It made little sense.

"Why did you do it?" He'd asked the question before he'd thought about it more than those brief seconds. Thinking brought on questions that he really didn't want answered, not yet.

Kouji looked over toward him, a quick glance of eyes that were too familiar and not familiar enough. "What are you talking about this time?"

"You stopped me from killing Agnimon. Why?" Until now, Duskmon had written it off as a human thing, something he wouldn't understand. Perhaps that was all it was; perhaps it could be nothing else. He wouldn't know until he pursued this more.

The human said nothing at first, his brow furrowed, thinking it over. When he spoke, Duskmon thought he sounded tense. "Why do you care?"

"Answer me." If there was an answer beyond 'a stupid human thing', then he wanted to know about it.

Kouji once again didn't answer right away. "Because he's my friend." The way he said it seemed to indicate that it should've been obvious.

Dark shadows flickered all through Duskmon's mind. _Your friend. You call him a friend. A friend. You don't have friends!_ He could not have said where the knowledge came from, but it flowed through him in a fashion he could not deny. It was as true as his own aching, burning hatred for Kouji: Kouji had no friends. Kouji had never wanted friends. Kouji made it a point to avoid people who called him friends.

"Friend." He bit the word off, throwing it out as if it were poison. Perhaps it was, in a sense. "What do _you_ know of friends?"

This time, Kouji lashed out, leaping to his feet and glaring at the warrior. "More than you ever could!"

"You've always been alone. You don't care about people. Why is he different? Why are _they_ different?"

_Why aren't I different?_ A voice in the deepest depths of Duskmon's heart, a part of himself he'd never known existed, whispered. He didn't listen, but he didn't need to. The pain in that voice was his pain, would always be his.

It was his voice, after all.

"None of your business!"

Duskmon hadn't seen a human blush before, but he knew that dusting of rose across Kouji's cheeks nevertheless. This was a topic the other didn't want to discuss. That made it one Duskmon wished to press all the more, to the breaking point if need be. "I choose what my business is, Kouji."

He liked the taste of the other's name on his tongue, the way hatred and passion wrapped around it and made it singe and burn. He wanted to hear his own name on Kouji's, to hear that same rage and fury thrown back at him.

Could Kouji hate him as much as he hated Kouji?

Kouji shook his head even more harshly and clenched one fist, taking a defiant step toward his captor. "Give me back my Digivice." He didn't try to bargain. He demanded what he wanted. He reacted as one warrior would to another, wanting his weapon back. It didn't matter that his clothes were stained and torn, that his bandanna had slipped down, freeing half of his hair to hang in his face, and he still moved with traces of pain. He was a warrior and he wanted what was his.

With careless ease, Duskmon shifted his attention away from the other, turning to eye the forest beyond the cave. Somewhere out there wandered the Warrior of Flame. He'd return, no matter where he was, and Kouji would have his _friend_ back, the one he valued above all others.

He couldn't ever remember having been jealous before. He might've recognized it if he had. To think that Kouji chose another, that Kouji cared about people who _weren't him_…

It shouldn't have made sense. It didn't make sense. Yet Duskmon realized that he didn't care. He wanted all of this to end and there was only one way for that to happen: to finish Kouji off once and for all.

As swift as he could be, for once, someone else was swifter still. Duskmon found himself toppling backward, Kouji striking him hard in the knees to bring him down. Kouji's hands battered across him, searching for something. Duskmon knew what it was, but before he could do anything to prevent it, Kouji's Digivice clattered away from him.

Both of them froze for a heartbeat. Kouji reacted first, seizing the device and backing off. He didn't wait for Duskmon to make a move, but evolved quicker than he ever had in his entire life.

Duskmon didn't wait for him, either. If the transformation weren't a breath away from being instantaneous, he would've brought his blade down onto Kouji's neck before armor covered it.

He could get over how much it infuriated him to scent Kouji's blood. If he had to tear his answers from Kouji's still-beating heart, then he'd do so.

Wolfmon ducked away from the swinging blade, bringing up one arm to defend himself as he did. Duskmon struck again and again, bringing all of his strength to bear, and pushed the Warrior of Light back with each movement.

"You'll never be strong enough to defeat me." Duskmon knew Wolfmon couldn't parry his blows forever. All he needed was to wear the other out. The mushrooms healed the other, he knew, but he still would have needed rest and time to be at his full strength.

He no longer cared about fighting him at that full strength. This _had to end_.

Wolfmon blocked and parried as hard as he could, shoving at his opponent with every scrap of strength in his body. He wasn't at his best, and Duskmon took advantage of that to shove him back yet again.

Yet trading blows still brought up those images. This time Duskmon tried to ignore them. He knew he couldn't do this for long, but he didn't need long. He just needed enough to finish the job. Perhaps Cherubimon-sama would have the answers and could tell him later, once he'd brought the Spirits of Light to him.

Wolfmon stepped back a quick handful of steps, eyeing him as if determining where next to strike. Duskmon drew in a breath, shifting his blades and ready for any strike the other could attempt to make. He knew he would win. There could be no other option.

Swifter than Duskmon would've imagined he could be, Wolfmon leaped back and out of sight, darting into the trees. Duskmon stood only for a few seconds before he followed.

"Running away, Kouji?" He knew better than that. Another explanation existed.

"If I tried to explain it, you'd never understand. You already proved that." Wolfmon hurried along through the trees, ducking under some, dodging around others, putting his all into staying ahead of Duskmon.

Duskmon kept on his trail; it wasn't all that hard. Wolfmon wasn't going to a great deal of trouble to hide it. _Perhaps he's trying to lure me into a trap._ Though where or how there could be a trap, Duskmon couldn't yet see. That disturbed him as well. Kouji didn't think like that. So to have him doing it now struck chords within him that rang off-key.

Then he noticed where they were going, or rather, where Wolfmon's steps led him: right to where Mercuremon and Ranamon had captured the other warriors.

_I see._ Wolfmon didn't want to fight him. Not now, at any rate. He wanted to find his friends.

Duskmon pulled to a halt and watched as the armored warrior blazed out of sight. He could catch up to him any time that he wanted. But for now, Wolfmon was too distracted to put up any kind of real fight. That wasn't what Duskmon wanted.

_I'll find you another time, when you can't go off to find them._ It wasn't what he would've preferred, but he would make allowances. For the moment.

All things in good time. And when the time for their fight did come, Duskmon knew who would win.

* * *

_I lost him._ Wolfmon didn't stop running, not yet, not until he covered all the ground between Duskmon's cave and where he'd seen the traces of the others earlier. Most of the water had sunk into the ground by now, leaving only a few stray drops here and there. He leaned against a fallen tree and reversed his evolution, wrapping one hand around a branch to support himself as he did, the energy of being a Digimon flowing away and leaving him hardly able to stand at first.

Kouji glanced back the way he'd been, trying to figure out if Duskmon still followed him or not. _I don't think he's there._ That bothered him in and of itself. Duskmon wasn't the type to just quit. Which meant he'd be there again, sooner or later.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to get his breath back completely. The mushrooms had done a good job, even with how slowly he'd eaten them, and while his side still ached, especially from the battle and how fast he'd run to get away from Duskmon, it was a bearable kind of ache. At least he wasn't in danger of passing out anymore.

_I really did that._ He'd fought Digimon without evolving before, before he'd even known how to evolve or what it was or could have. But tackling Duskmon like that…that was a move worthy of Takuya. Or one that Takuya would approve of, at the least. But when the other options involved _maybe_ waiting for a chance to steal it from someone who might or might not ever sleep or getting beaten up without it, it didn't seem quite that insane anymore.

A brief breath of wind caressed his cheek and Kouji forced himself not to clutch onto his Digivice. _Just the wind. Not him._ Still, he knew he couldn't sit around here forever, or Duskmon really would show up.

He pushed himself to his feet and took a few careful steps. _I've got to find them._ He hoped that somehow Junpei, Izumi, and Tomoki had managed to escape the two evil warriors. All he'd seen before was a glint of Mercuremon and a deluge of water, so almost anything could've happened while he was gone.

He moved along, watching for any sort of sign from either friends or enemies. He'd take either one, so long as it led him to where he wanted to go in the end.

_What was with Duskmon?_ Very little of what had happened made sense. Granted, he hadn't wanted to stick around long enough for it _to_ make sense, since that would've involved getting thrown around by Duskmon. Thrown around, thrown into things, thrown against things, thrown down things, and none of those appealed to Kouji at all. Especially not when he didn't know where any of his friends were at the moment.

All he could be sure of was that there was a bond of some kind between them, a link forged in the moment their eyes met. It wasn't something he understood and he wondered, and worried, what Duskmon intended to do about it. For that matter, he wondered if there was anything that _he_ could do about it.

_Not now. If ever._

He kept going. Even after he found Tomoki, Junpei, and Izumi, they'd all have to find Takuya, and Bokomon and Neemon. _Then_ they could figure out what to do about Duskmon and the rest of the Legendary Warriors. Somewhere beyond that…he didn't even want to think about Cherubimon, but the fact of his existence floated there. They'd fight him, someday. Exactly how they'd win, he didn't know. But it would be done, nevertheless.

Maybe then, once all the fighting was over, they could go home. He missed his parents more than he would've ever thought before all this began. He tried not to think about them too much; he preferred focusing on what they had to do here and now.

But he would go home one day, and there wasn't anything Duskmon, or anyone else here, could do to stop him.

**The End**


End file.
